"If you can't hold back, let me handle it next time."
Orion leaned down to meet her eyes. "Desperate people do desperate things."
"Got it. Next time, I'll just unleash you."
Lemira purposefully reached out and pressed a thumb against the cut on his lip. The man's gaze shifted.
She gave a wicked smile. "Does it hurt? Don't you dare kiss me like that out of nowhere again!"
Orion caught her wrist and carefully inspected her hand, noticing her skin was a little red.
He spoke seriously, "I'll rub some ointment on this when we get back."
"It doesn't even hurt. The way you dragged me in here, I thought something terrible had happened. This is so awkward."
Thinking about how abruptly he had pulled her away, and looking at his busted lip now, even a blind person could guess what had just happened.
It was definitely a little embarrassing.
Orion held her hand tightly. "What are you afraid of? I'll explain."
"You said it, not me."
Lemira followed him back into the dining room. The food had already been served.
Thaddeus Draven looked up. "Now that you two are finally done with your personal business, let's eat."
Lemira kept her head down in silence and took a seat next to Stella.
Orion picked up his glass and looked at Caleb Sterling. "To welcome a certain someone back. Glad you're home."
"Yeah, welcome back, Caleb."
Lemira glanced across the table. Caleb remained as brooding and tight-lipped as
ever.
Stella also raised her glass, and everyone clinked them together.
Thaddeus started asking Caleb about his time abroad, while Lemira and Stella listened quietly.
Lemira couldn't help but ask, "Did you ever get hurt?"
At her question, Orion shot her a look, an eyebrow raised. She certainly seemed quite interested in Caleb.
Stella secretly stole a glance at the bodyguard, too.
Truthfully, she also desperately wanted to know what he had been through all those years alone overseas. Had he faced any close calls?
Caleb sensed Stella's gaze. Even though she tried to look nonchalant, he caught it.
In his line of work, he was instinctively hyper-aware of where people were looking.
He tightened his grip on his glass. "I have."
"When was the worst of it?" Lemira pressed.
"A year ago."
Hearing that, Stella lost her focus and accidentally knocked her glass over.
She felt entirely unmoored. A year ago... wasn't that when his
grandmother passed away and he
took that massive high-risk contract abroad?
She had been right beside him back then, yet he had never said a word.
Lemira looked over. "Your dress is soaked. Go get cleaned up."
Stella nodded, stood up, and hurried out of the room.
Her mind in a whirl, she stepped out to the hallway near the restrooms, where there
was an electric hand dryer.
She lifted the damp fabric of her dress slightly to let the warm air hit it.
"Hey gorgeous, nice legs."
A man reeking of alcohol stumbled
over
sexchange
numbers im a general manager
company. Let's be friends."
Stella frowned. "Go away."
He blocked her path. "Tsk, tsk. So you're a cripple, huh? What a waste of such beautiful legs!"
Her eyes instantly reddened with furious, helpless tears.
The next second, the drunk man was sent flying with a vicious kick.
Stella looked up to see the man she had dreamed of day and night, and her emotions instantly broke.
She choked on a sob. "You heard him, didn't you? Is that why you hated my legs back then, too?"
Caleb's jaw was clenched tight. He stepped right up to her. "We're going back." "Let go of me!"
Stella hiked her dress up further, her eyes flashing red. "I know you never lie. Look
at my legs and answer my question!"
She had wanted to ask him this for a very long time.
Caleb's vision blurred at the sight
those long, straight legs. The
Of
ironclad control he had maintained all these years shattered in
instant.
He stepped in, wrapped his arms around her thighs, and hoisted her flush against
his chest.
His broad torso engulfed her, his large, calloused hands gripping her luminous skin in a stark, contrasting display of power.